August 843

-A little over a year since Levi joined the Survey Corps.-

-Part III-

Someone had had the good sense to send equipped scouts after them.

It wasn't long before a solider from one of Mike's teams found them and raised a sparkler high in the air, waving it in signal to the others. A scout and a medic immediately swung over. Levi passed the girl to the solider, who promptly collected her limp body in his arms and rushed over the buildings toward headquarters. The medic immediately set Mike to sit on the roof ridge and opened her First Aid kit.

When a familiar figure appeared a moment later next to Levi, he wasn't the least bit surprised to see them a disheveled mess: hair sticking out every which way, still in their training shorts, and their shirt buttons horrendously misaligned.

When their soft fingertips fell, ever so lightly, to Levi's bare shoulder, he saw the fresh ink which stained their long nimble fingers and the cuffs of their wrinkled white sleeves. Levi realized Hange must have been working the night away when the alarm bell had rung.

"Why is no one tending to him?" Hange demanded curtly in a tone Levi had never heard them use inside the Walls. Hange's gaze swept over both the medic that was hurriedly disinfecting Mike's wound and the scout that was awkwardly standing idle at the corner. The later stiffened in panic. "He said he was not injured, sir," he replied just as Levi wearily told Hange, "It's not my blood."

An incredulous frown curved on Hange's lips. Their fingers slipped from the edge of Levi's shoulder as they took a few steps away to get a better view of the red splatters which decorated his figures. Levi watched Hange's unusually sharp gaze roll over him with a sense of unease— he wasn't used to seeing them like this outside of missions, during which they still often preserved a light tone and kept the mood high.

Finally, Hange's eyes met Levi's. In a second, a glaze swept over Hange's face and body. A familiar bright expression took over.

"Wow! Ha!" They exclaimed, eyes shining and grin blown wide, "That's Private Levi for you!" As far as Levi could tell, their awe was genuine.

The medic exhaled a loud sigh of relief.

Levi watched Hange turn to walk toward Mike. They squatted down by the fellow Squad Leader. "You okay, big guy?" Hange asked.

"Just peachy," Mike replied and lifted his hand to give Hange an "Okay" hand side— thumb and pointer pressed into an "O." Hange smiled softly.

"How's Erwin and the Commander?" Levi asked, although he knew both must've been fine if Hange was here.

"Getting sewn up like two cheap rag dolls that have been used as substitutes for a soccer ball for three summers in a row by some overtly violent rascals," Hange hummed cheerily, their hands crawling all over Mike's body in an attentive inspection as the medic began to wind bandaged around his waist. By the way Mike tilted his head up and down, side to side, the way he lifted his arm this way and that without a word, Levi could tell this was a routine the two had done before.

Although Hange's expedition squad included the medics, their notable medical knowledge was, as far as Levi understood from the bits of gossip that drifted his way, an informal amalgamation from years of experience. Yet, no one questioned their cures or interventions.

"So they're okay?" Mike clarified wearily. Levi found comfort in the poorly concealed guilt lingering in Zaccharius' voice— so he too had been haunted by unease since he left their injured superiors on the floor of a trashed office.

"Just peachy," Hange quipped brightly. Although they were keeping an upbeat tone to their words, the cheer wasn't genuine. Still, Mike smiled. Despite his protests, Hange bullied him into accepting the two medics' help. It was best he get a thorough cleaning and stitches as soon as possible. With an arm over each of their shoulders, Hange's scouts took off with Mike.

As those figures grew minuscule in the distance, Hange pulled a sparkler from their gear. Now, with just the two of them on the rooftop, Hange remained a notable distance away from Levi. Neither came closer when they spoke.

"Anything absolutely riveting to report?" Hange asked, reaching for the small matchbook in their chest pocket.

Levi opened his mouth, ready to retort that there was nothing worth briefing them on, that they'd hear it all once he told Erwin what happened, but then he stopped himself. For a second, he hovered with his mouth awkwardly agape.

Hange raised a brow at Levi's hesitation as they set the wooden end of a match in their lips while their hand tucked the matchbook back into the pocket. It bobbed like a cigarette when they asked, "What is it?"

"...Are there any more medics running around?"

"One more. And three more soldiers."

Levi pursed his lips. "Some kids got caught in the scuffle," he said, "Street brats that didn't know what the hell they signed up for. The shit-for-brains assassin or whatever must've paid them to try and waste our time."

Hange frowned. Their gaze flickered over his face as they pulled the match from their mouth. Somehow, they seemed to understand.

"Where are they?" Hange asked.

Levi nodded in the direction. "Three buildings down. You'll see them in the alley."

Hange nodded. "How many attacked you?"

"More than a dozen."

"Any survivors?"

"Perhaps a handful."

They fished out a sparkler from the cluster that was awkwardly tucked into their gear, then cursed for putting away the matchbook. For a moment, Levi pictured himself stepping over to pull it out of the pocket for them, lighting the small fire with a flick of his wrist. But, Hange's fingers were quick and the sparkler ignited. Levi squinted against its sudden light. He recognized the mini-firework as the ones the Corps had used during the summer holiday celebrations. Hange must've grabbed them in quickly concocted plan to hunt down Mike and Levi.

Waving the burning sparkler in the air to attract the deployed scouts, Hange told Levi, "I'll see that they're taken care of...one way or another. Can't have journalists writing up some shitty Op-Ed about Survey Corps going on a midnight rampage, cutting up civilians like breakfast sausage."

"...Thanks, Hange."

Hange gave him a small smile.

The sparkler fizzled out and the remaining scouts were already clumsily hopping over the buildings towards them.

"You're sure you're not hurt?" they asked, playing with the burned out sparkler by twirling and weaving it through their long fingers. They took a couple short steps closer to Levi.

"I'm fine," he said. "I would have noticed if I had misplaced a finger or an asshole by now."

Hange's lips twitched up. "Haha, if you say so! Can you get to HQ on your own? Or do you want me to carry you back, bridal-style?"

"I'd rather eat piss and drink shit."

Hange laughed and then kissed the tips of their fingers in a "chef's kiss." The scouts under their command arrived, stumbling upon the roof. Levi and Hange exchanged a lingering glance before Hange and the team departed.

Levi turned to leave.

Absentmindedly, his hand skimmed over his bare chest. He looked down. There, upon his chest, was Erwin Smith's dried bloody handprint. There, upon his fingertips, after all this time…was Erwin Smith's dried blood.

Levi pressed his lips in a hardline. What a weird life he has lived.

—

In the short time that Mike and Levi had been gone, the headquarters had sprang to life: staff ran along the lit hallways, drowsy soldiers stood drowsily lined up along the walls, half in underwear, half in partial uniform.

When Levi arrived at the infirmary, he saw officers flocking the perimeters of Mike's, Shadis' and Erwin's beds. The Squad Leaders and captains talked in hushed hurried tones, their heads hung low together and their expressions grave. Levi kept his distance, lingering at a wall by the entrance. A couple officers cast distrustful glances over their shoulders at him, but he saw Mike and Erwin's frowns deepen notably. Although he couldn't hear what they were saying, he realized they were firmly defending him from suspicion.

Levi looked down at his feet. "Tch," he kissed his teeth as he saw how fucking filthy his pants and shoes were. As if on cue, a nervous young nurse approached him to say there was a shower and clean clothes ready for him— as well as medical attention. Despite the sharp stinging upon his palm, Levi accepted only the first offer.

By the time Levi stepped back into the infirmary in the crowd had been dissipated, ushered away by fretting medics. Levi carefully took a seat at the edge of Mike's so he could face Erwin, who sat on the edge of his own cot.

Shadis had succumb to exhaustion, so the three men kept their whispers diligently low to not wake the commander.

All three attackers had been identified as first-year scouts, Erwin told them. Mike and Levi's eyes widened, but the surprise for Levi didn't dig deep.

"I remember now," Levi murmured, glancing at Mike, "The girl…I had seen her earlier today— she passed Hange and I a water bottle."

Erwin nodded. "She was the one Hange smacked for calling you a squirrel."

Under any other circumstances, Levi would've found the deadpan seriousness with which Erwin said that ridiculous statement rather amusing.

Mike frowned from where he lay propped against hospital pillows. "Do you think she poisoned the water, perhaps?"

Levi considered it for a moment. "Wouldn't it have kicked in by now?"

Mike shrugged, saying he didn't know shit about poisons.

Erwin rubbed his jaw. "I don't think that's something we need to concern ourselves with. I drank from the canteen bottle as well and relatively, I am fine. So are all the others. If this was a genuine assassination attempt, which I doubt, they certainly didn't think it through."

"Why do you doubt it?" Levi asked.

"Because whoever hired them knew damn well they couldn't do the job," Hange said. Three heads turned to see Hange drape a hand towel over their shoulder and then settle a hand on the railing of the foot of Mike's bed. Levi saw that although the ink stains were gone from Hange's fingers, they still lingered on their cuffs, accompanied by red smudges.

Hange's pushed their goggles up, bangs no longer falling forward, as Levi looked over the new red marks that decorated Hange's clothes and skin. He wondered how big of a pain in the ass the kids had been.

In response to Mike's quizzical expression, Hange explained, "Even equipped and with a surprise attack, two of the three idiots lost their lives despite Erwin and Mike's efforts to hold back." Mike's expression dimmed at the news that he had killed a scout, even when they had been a traitor.

Hange turned to Erwin. "Whoever plotted this must really want you gone," Hange mused drily. Based on Erwin's steady gaze, this revelation wasn't new to him.

"Thinking of Lovof?" Erwin asked simply. Levi folded his arms over his chest and said nothing in response to the familiar name.

Hange shrugged one shoulder. "It is a possibility. He has been diagnosed with acute idiocy before. But, I believe he's too obvious of a suspect. It could've been someone close to him, though— perhaps another noble, any fat rich pig that shared his oh-so-rare sentiment."

Erwin hummed, looking at Levi with an unreadable gaze. A silence lulled.

"But Hange," Mike spoke up slowly, "that doesn't make sense. If whoever's behind this wanted Erwin gone, why'd they hire shitty hitmen? Levi had actually made sense."

"Gone, not dead, Mike," Hange emphasized gently, "I'm waiting to get their personal records delivered to me, but from what I hear, all three were from poor villages in the Western district." Everyone knew Erwin hailed from one of the wealthier Western cities. "And they only attacked Shadis in his office when they knew Erwin was there."

Levi found himself watching Erwin's expression as Hange spoke.

"So it would look like I conspired against Shadis myself," Erwin finished for Hange, gaze settling on the 4th Squad Leader. Hange sighed, "Yeah," and nodded.

The bed shifted under Levi as Hange carefully sunk to its very corner. Mike bent his legs just in time to avoid having his huge ass feet sat on.

Hange's knuckles were turning white from hard they were balling their hands into fists. Mike's bedsheet scrunched as he did the same. But Erwin had his fingers loosely intertwined, his elbows resting on his knees. Levi crossed his legs.

The reality of treachery had sunk in.

"Wait, wait, hold on," Mike spoke up tightly, "These are our soldiers you're talking about. One's from one of your own teams, Hang'. This is different than last year with Levi. With Levi…he was was just a stranger when he was contracted. He didn't know us. He didn't know what outside the walls was like. He didn't…betray us. These kids, they've been on— what? four? five? missions with us. They— I—."

"It's just speculation, Mike," Hange interrupted gently, their hand resting on his leg over the thin blanket. "I could be dead wrong," Hange tittered with a heavy smile, "Who knows? Maybe they were just trying to kill a couple mosquitos in Shadis office and got a little overzealous." The strained joke fell flat and somehow worsened the mood far more.

Erwin, who had been sitting as still as a statue, straightened. He scratched his chin with his thumb, a pensive habit of his, and then said, "Mike. Levi. Go get some rest. We'll tackle this issue properly in the afternoon, with clear minds." He turned to Hange, "I know you're going to be restless. See if you can find the time to get Commander Shadis and me a report on their backgrounds."

"Already on it," Hange replied, "Patricia and the other captains are questioning their teams about the privates as we speak."

"Good." Erwin brushed his hair back. "That's all." Expertly, he wrapped up the conversation. As Levi lingered to tell the men a goodnight, Hange stowed away to Shadis' for a brief moment. They left the infirmary together.

Their steps echoed down the halls, as they passed by a handful of nervous medics and soldiers running around. The whole building was on edge.

With the adrenaline properly drained from his system, Levi felt as if his legs weighed a thousand tons with every step he took. Sparring with Mike had been more exhausting than any of his Titan encounters. It was oddly invigorating, knowing he finally had someone to let loose with, to properly train and fight with.

"Hey, Levi," Hange spoke up brightly as the two of them neared a staircase. Levi wearily looked at them.

"Catch."